COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Of course it doesn’t make sense. You know it, I know it, even
the doofuses who continue to perpetrate this idiotic Bowl Championship Series
system have to know just how fatally flawed and hopelessly messed up their
multi-million dollar scam is.

So Sunday night was just one more bit of annoying confirmation of how defective
the BCS is.

From the broad national perspective, to the narrower parochial one, I truly
hate it with all my heart. But since sports is very much like politics --
everything is local -- let’s deal with how Mizzou got robbed Sunday night by
the BCS and its convoluted computers.

Missouri finished its finest season in the history of the program with an 11-2
record, won the Big 12 North, knocked off both arch rivals in Kansas and
Illinois, and the Tigers finished with a No. 6 ranking in the final BCS
standings.

Logic says the Tigers had to get a BCS bowl bid, right?

So why are they sitting on the outside of the BCS with an invitation to the
still prestigious (but non BCS) Cotton Bowl, while five other schools that
ranked lower in the BCS standings -- including the 8th-ranked Jayhawks and
13th-ranked Illini -- received bids to the more preferred BCS bowls?

Seventh-ranked Southern California and Illinois are in the Rose Bowl. Kansas is
in the Orange Bowl, ninth-ranked West Virginia is in the Fiesta Bowl and
10th-ranked Hawaii is in the Sugar Bowl.

So how does any of this make sense? As the news began to filter through the
second floor hallways at the Reynolds Alumni Center on Sunday night, the grim
faces of many Mizzou athletes told the story of the night.

“It’s just a shame we got locked out,” said All-America tight end Martin
Rucker. “How does that happen? Mathematically, logically, it just doesn’t make
sense.”

By the time the Fox network BCS bowl selection show began at 7 p.m., Rucker and
his teammates had already left the building. They couldn’t bear to watch it.
They had been instructed to take the high road and go with the company line
that they’re “excited” to be Cotton Bowl bound.

But Rucker, the senior who has seen Missouri football grow from inconsequential
to important, couldn’t play the game. In the course of 48 turbulent hours, he’d
watched his team go from No. 1 in the country with a legitimate shot at a
national championship bid, to disappointed and disgusted outsiders with their
noses pressed to the glass watching the BCS dance cards being handed out.

Someone asked if this obvious slight was further proof of how badly college
football’s top division needs a playoff system to decide its national champions
and perhaps prevent a situation like this where Mizzou was unjustly left on the
outside looking in.

“I don’t know if you need a playoff system to see that it doesn’t make sense
that one team (Illinois) lost three games and lost to you, and you only lost
two games, and they’re going to a BCS game and you’re not,” said Rucker with a
resigned shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t think we need a playoff system to
understand that, do we?”

You could see the disappointment in their faces as the players got the
official word and most of them quietly left the alumni center without saying a
word. “I have a bunch of players who have a bunch of frowns,” said Pinkel.

But those frowning faces told another story of the night, as well. Is there any
surer sign that Pinkel’s emerging program is heading in the right direction
than the fact that Mizzou football is no longer satisfied with a Cotton Bowl
bid?

Three years ago -- heck, last year -- Missouri loyalists and Tiger players and
coaches would have done somersaults down Broadway if you told them that the
2007 season would conclude with an 11-2 regular season record, a Big 12 North
title, a week on top of the national polls, a legitimate Heisman Trophy
candidate, and a Cotton Bowl bid.

After six years of lesser bowls and underachieving seasons, a trip to a
traditional and prestigious Jan. 1 bowl game, with or without the additional
status of a BCS affiliation, would have been considered a watershed mark for
Pinkel and the Tigers.

So even in the aftermath of the crushing defeat to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title
game, even with the obvious insult by the BCS system, even as some folks will
spend a lot of energy and a ton of venom overanalyzing how the biggest game in
MU football history ended up with a less-than-storybook ending, let’s not lose
sight of the essential ongoing story line.

What happened over the weekend wasn’t the sad end of the story.

The rebirth of Mizzou football is a story that’s just beginning.

Sure-Oz

12-03-2007, 09:55 AM

Hopefully this coming year they will use this as a chip on their shoulders and kick some ass. I can't see this as anything but positive for MU, even though i really wanted a BCS bowl. Bring on the Mcfaddens.

Lzen

12-03-2007, 09:59 AM

Better hope that MU doesn't play like they're disappointed to be in the Cotton.

Also, there is one other aspect that I was just thinking about. If, as others have pointed out, that the Orange had the first pick of the remaining "at-large" teams, then they should be blamed. Perhaps the Rose or Sugar would have chosen MU. But if the Orange was the first pick and they picked KU, then the other bowls could not pick MU due to the max 2 teams per conference rule (which is a stupid rule, IMO).

siberian khatru

12-03-2007, 10:00 AM

Better hope that MU doesn't play like they're disappointed to be in the Cotton.

Also, there is one other aspect that I was just thinking about. If, as others have pointed out, that the Orange had the first pick of the remaining "at-large" teams, then they should be blamed. Perhaps the Rose or Sugar would have chosen MU. But if the Orange was the first pick and they picked KU, then the other bowls could not pick MU due to the max 2 teams per conference rule (which is a stupid rule, IMO).

Totally agree and I've said as much several times.

Hydrae

12-03-2007, 10:02 AM

I have some friends who are big Sooner fans and they are pretty pissed too. Something to do with being #3 in all the polls but #4 in the BCS and having to play West Virginia (ranked #9) in their bowl game basically shutting them out of any possible consideration for the championship.

Garcia Bronco

12-03-2007, 10:02 AM

Better hope that MU doesn't play like they're disappointed to be in the Cotton.

Also, there is one other aspect that I was just thinking about. If, as others have pointed out, that the Orange had the first pick of the remaining "at-large" teams, then they should be blamed. Perhaps the Rose or Sugar would have chosen MU. But if the Orange was the first pick and they picked KU, then the other bowls could not pick MU due to the max 2 teams per conference rule (which is a stupid rule, IMO).

It's not a stupid rule whne you consider the conference money involved.

Garcia Bronco

12-03-2007, 10:03 AM

I have some friends who are big Sooner fans and they are pretty pissed too. Something to do with being #3 in all the polls but #4 in the BCS and having to play West Virginia (ranked #9) in their bowl game basically shutting them out of any possible consideration for the championship.

Tell them they should e thankful they get to play in a BCS game at all because they suck and are overrated.

Cochise

12-03-2007, 10:06 AM

There's nothing wrong with it, really.

There's no argument that can be made that Kansas deserved the Orange Bowl more than Missouri. You'd get laughed off any newspaper page or TV program if you said that. It sounds to me the more I read like Perkins was after them from the start and sold them on it, and Alden didn't.

It's ok, really. Missouri is better than Kansas, and I think we'd have probably gotten hammered against a top 5 opponent like we were going to see. I think we're truly a 7-8-9 team and KU is 10-11-12 or so. We'll see I guess.

Being in the Cotton Bowl lets us play a team we match up better with better, one that's geographically close, a place where we can probably bring more fan support, etc. Players should be motivated by getting the snub like Auburn did before, in 04 or whenever.

It's cool, really. The Orange Bowl can have them. If they go down there and get embarrassed then that will say more than we can ever say about it.

Cochise

12-03-2007, 10:09 AM

I have some friends who are big Sooner fans and they are pretty pissed too. Something to do with being #3 in all the polls but #4 in the BCS and having to play West Virginia (ranked #9) in their bowl game basically shutting them out of any possible consideration for the championship.

OU might beat all of the other teams in the BCS. They have a legitimate gripe in that respect, but still only themselves to blame.

Lzen

12-03-2007, 10:10 AM

I have some friends who are big Sooner fans and they are pretty pissed too. Something to do with being #3 in all the polls but #4 in the BCS and having to play West Virginia (ranked #9) in their bowl game basically shutting them out of any possible consideration for the championship.

OU has no argument. They lost to CU and Texas Tech, both unranked teams. If OU was really a championship caliber team, they would play more consistently. With the kind of talent that OU teams has, there is no excuse for losing both those games.
People dog on KU for their schedule, but they can say one thing that a lot of other top teams cannot. They took care of business against lesser opponents.

cosmo20002

12-03-2007, 10:23 AM

There's no argument that can be made that Kansas deserved the Orange Bowl more than Missouri.

Sure there is--KU lost 1 game, MU lost 2.

What, because MU beat KU, MU 'deserves' to go? By that logic, Kentucky 'deserves' to be in the national title game because they beat LSU. Or Colorado 'deserves' a BCS bowl because they beat Oklahoma.

The system is f'd up--always has been. But outside of the title game, no one is entitled to anything. The BCS isn't set up so that the top 10 teams get the bowl slots. After the top 2, its just a draft of the eligible teams.

Frankly, I don't see what the big deal is. KU and MU are both going to the same place--the 'Not the National Title Game Bowl.' If you're not playing for the title, who cares?

Cochise

12-03-2007, 10:25 AM

Sure there is--KU lost 1 game, MU lost 2.

What, because MU beat KU, MU 'deserves' to go? By that logic, Kentucky 'deserves' to be in the national title game because they beat LSU. Or Colorado 'deserves' a BCS bowl because they beat Oklahoma.

Your and idiot.

|Zach|

12-03-2007, 10:27 AM

Sure there is--KU lost 1 game, MU lost 2.

What, because MU beat KU, MU 'deserves' to go? By that logic, Kentucky 'deserves' to be in the national title game because they beat LSU. Or Colorado 'deserves' a BCS bowl because they beat Oklahoma.

The system is f'd up--always has been. But outside of the title game, no one is entitled to anything. The BCS isn't set up so that the top 10 teams get the bowl slots. After the top 2, its just a draft of the eligible teams.

Frankly, I don't see what the big deal is. KU and MU are both going to the same place--the 'Not the National Title Game Bowl.' If you're not playing for the title, who cares?
There is a reason nobody is making those points...

They are straw men.

Nobody is saying App. St is better than Michigan here. This isn't a 4 win team saying they are better than KU because MU beat them.

The win difference is 1. MU has a big north title...is ahead of KU in the BCS, coaches, and AP polls.

Did I mention KU hasn't beaten a top 40 team?

steelyeyed57

12-03-2007, 10:31 AM

Not that I have ever cared, but what difference does a "BCS" bowl and a non-BCS bowl make if neither of them are for the national championship. I have not cared and I continue to not care about this porous marketing scam to make teams feel like they accomplished something even though they are playing for the same thing that Central Michigan and Rutgers are... nothing.

vailpass

12-03-2007, 10:31 AM

Take consolation in this MU fan: the Orange Bowl is the biggest crap hole of all the major bowls. I went a few years ago to see my Hawkeyes get pounded by USC and couldn't believe the decrepit cement bowl with the run-down parking lots in the middle of a nowhere neighborhood was the fabled Orange Bowl.
Aren't they tearing that thing down soon?

Raymond James stadium/Outback Bowl kills the Orange for an all around good time. Tampa rocks and the stadium is awesome.

Baconeater

12-03-2007, 10:32 AM

The BCS is well known for their screw jobs, I can't say this surprises me all that much. You can bitch until you're blue in the face and it won't change a thing.

Baconeater

12-03-2007, 10:34 AM

Take consolation in this MU fan: the Orange Bowl is the biggest crap hole of all the major bowls. I went a few years ago to see my Hawkeyes get pounded by USC and couldn't believe the decrepit cement bowl with the run-down parking lots in the middle of a nowhere neighborhood was the fabled Orange Bowl.
Aren't they tearing that thing down soon?

Raymond James stadium/Outback Bowl kills the Orange for an all around good time. Tampa rocks and the stadium is awesome.
The Orange Bowl has been played in the Dolphin's Stadium (whatever it's named now) for almost a decade.

petegz28

12-03-2007, 10:35 AM

Sure there is--KU lost 1 game, MU lost 2.

What, because MU beat KU, MU 'deserves' to go? By that logic, Kentucky 'deserves' to be in the national title game because they beat LSU. Or Colorado 'deserves' a BCS bowl because they beat Oklahoma.

The system is f'd up--always has been. But outside of the title game, no one is entitled to anything. The BCS isn't set up so that the top 10 teams get the bowl slots. After the top 2, its just a draft of the eligible teams.

Frankly, I don't see what the big deal is. KU and MU are both going to the same place--the 'Not the National Title Game Bowl.' If you're not playing for the title, who cares?

No cause KU wasn't good enough to play 13 games.

Cochise

12-03-2007, 10:35 AM

the Orange Bowl is the biggest crap hole of all the major bowls... decrepit cement bowl with the run-down parking lots in the middle of a nowhere neighborhood...

That just sounds like Miami ;)

Whoever said it was like a third world country was right. The beach, the tourist areas they keep nice, but the rest of it is garbage

vailpass

12-03-2007, 10:36 AM

I doubt many people on this board would go anyways. FWIW.

Talk on the local radio here in Phoenix was that the Fiesta would have preferred Kansas over MU as Kansas and K-State are known to travel much better than MU thus the visitor revenue stream is a lot higher.

That isn't my opinion but that ov several local radio guys.

cosmo20002

12-03-2007, 10:38 AM

Your and idiot.

Good argument.

vailpass

12-03-2007, 10:38 AM

The Orange Bowl has been played in the Dolphin's Stadium (whatever it's named now) for almost a decade.

Yep, and it is a shit hole.

Skip Towne

12-03-2007, 10:42 AM

Take consolation in this MU fan: the Orange Bowl is the biggest crap hole of all the major bowls. I went a few years ago to see my Hawkeyes get pounded by USC and couldn't believe the decrepit cement bowl with the run-down parking lots in the middle of a nowhere neighborhood was the fabled Orange Bowl.
Aren't they tearing that thing down soon?

Raymond James stadium/Outback Bowl kills the Orange for an all around good time. Tampa rocks and the stadium is awesome.
The Cotton Bowl opened in 1932.

cosmo20002

12-03-2007, 10:43 AM

Nobody is saying App. St is better than Michigan here.

Well, why not? If MU is better than KU, and therefore more 'deserving' of the Orange, why isn't App. St. better than Michigan by virtue of beating them? If winning head-to-head doesn't matter, then KU has an even better argument for 'deserving' the Orange.

Baconeater

12-03-2007, 10:44 AM

Yep, and it is a shit hole.
Oh, what you described sounded like the original Orange Bowl. That's the one that's getting torn down.

cosmo20002

12-03-2007, 10:47 AM

Not that I have ever cared, but what difference does a "BCS" bowl and a non-BCS bowl make if neither of them are for the national championship. I have not cared and I continue to not care about this porous marketing scam to make teams feel like they accomplished something even though they are playing for the same thing that Central Michigan and Rutgers are... nothing.

MU fans would sleep better if they realized this. Everything that is not the Title Game is a consolation game. If you're not in the Title Game, does it really matter if you're the in 5th-best bowl game or the 8th-best or whatever. Who cares?

Woodrow Call

12-03-2007, 10:49 AM

Now that my bitterness has subsided I'm just happy MU was in a positition to get screwed by the BCS. MU had one hell of a season and gave me one of my greatest experiences as a sports fan. I'm not going to let the BSC ruin it for me.

With all the returning players and very nice recruiting class coming in the future looks bright. Personally I can't wait to see this team playing with a chip on its shoulder in 08.

|Zach|

12-03-2007, 10:52 AM

Well, why not? If MU is better than KU, and therefore more 'deserving' of the Orange, why isn't App. St. better than Michigan by virtue of beating them? If winning head-to-head doesn't matter, then KU has an even better argument for 'deserving' the Orange.
I wouldn't have quoted the rest of my post either. With it, my argument makes sense.

Dave Lane

12-03-2007, 10:54 AM

Any bowl except the National Championship is a nothing anyway. That being said quit whining and win a game if you want to be recognized. KU going to the Orange Bowl is as useless as the Cotton Bowl. Who cares?

Dave

Garcia Bronco

12-03-2007, 10:56 AM

Winning a BCS game can mean 11 million for your conference and school.

DaKCMan AP

12-03-2007, 10:56 AM

Well, why not? If MU is better than KU, and therefore more 'deserving' of the Orange, why isn't App. St. better than Michigan by virtue of beating them? If winning head-to-head doesn't matter, then KU has an even better argument for 'deserving' the Orange.

You do realize that the only team MU lost to, KU didn't play and that the only reason MU has 1 more loss then KU is because KU didn't win its division. Doesn't sound to me like KU is the better team and more deserving of a BCS bowl just because they didn't get to go lose to OU in the Big XII champ.

vailpass

12-03-2007, 10:57 AM

Oh, what you described sounded like the original Orange Bowl. That's the one that's getting torn down.

Sorry, I now see that is exactly what it seemed I was saying.
I haven't been since 2003 but the year we went to the Orange Bowl the stadium it was played in was a crap hole.

Demonpenz

12-03-2007, 10:59 AM

I think winning a bowl game means something. Especially in ncaa 2007 i still can't win the alamo bowl!

Bob Dole

12-03-2007, 11:07 AM

Mizzou fans should be overjoyed that they have the chance to spend $90 for a spot on the "renovated" Cotton Bowl aluminum bench seating!

Molitoth

12-03-2007, 11:25 AM

Sure there is--KU lost 1 game, MU lost 2.

What, because MU beat KU, MU 'deserves' to go? By that logic, Kentucky 'deserves' to be in the national title game because they beat LSU. Or Colorado 'deserves' a BCS bowl because they beat Oklahoma.

dumb. dumb. dumb. dumb. dumb.

Frazod

12-03-2007, 11:27 AM

Mizzou fans should be overjoyed that they have the chance to spend $90 for a spot on the "renovated" Cotton Bowl aluminum bench seating!

Lovely. Sounds like Lambeau, minus the frozen tundra.

StcChief

12-03-2007, 12:06 PM

BCS Bowls seem to show it's a popularity contest.

Frazod

12-03-2007, 12:16 PM

BCS Bowls seem to show it's a popularity contest.

Why would that be? Seriously, what does Kansas have to offer? Bigger audience? Nope. Missouri's population is more than double that of Kansas. Bigger tradition? Again, no. Kansas has no tradition in football to speak of. More success? NO. We won head-to-head at a neutral field, effectively negating the one-loss season.

I don't know what happened, but I don't buy the official line for a second. I think this boils down to the right palms getting greased and the right asses getting kissed. The 2007 Jayhoax are basically the 1997 Broncos - the lesser team that goes farther by nefarious means.

siberian khatru

12-03-2007, 12:28 PM

Why would that be? Seriously, what does Kansas have to offer? Bigger audience? Nope. Missouri's population is more than double that of Kansas. Bigger tradition? Again, no. Kansas has no tradition in football to speak of. More success? NO. We won head-to-head at a neutral field, effectively negating the one-loss season.

I don't know what happened, but I don't buy the official line for a second. I think this boils down to the right palms getting greased and the right asses getting kissed. The 2007 Jayhoax are basically the 1997 Broncos - the lesser team that goes farther by nefarious means.

There's word that Perkins guaranteed X-number of tickets sold (supposedly Louisville did the same thing last year) and that Alden wouldn't commit to the same figure. Tiger fans think Perkins overpromised and they'll have to give away tix. Who knows.

BTW, it appears that all the MU Cotton Bowl tix sold out very quickly this morning.

chiefqueen

12-03-2007, 12:42 PM

Not that I have ever cared, but what difference does a "BCS" bowl and a non-BCS bowl

Let's illustrate this graphically

BCS Bowl -$$$$$$$$$$$

Non-BCS Bowl - $$

Get It?

dtebbe

12-03-2007, 12:47 PM

Let's illustrate this graphically

BCS Bowl -$$$$$$$$$$$

Non-BCS Bowl - $$

Get It?

And don't forget the recruiting angle. That's how you get those out of state guys that would otherwise go to other powerhouse programs.

DT

Frazod

12-03-2007, 12:53 PM

And don't forget the recruiting angle. That's how you get those out of state guys that would otherwise go to other powerhouse programs.

DT

Well, when VT kicks the shit out of them, and the next day all the talkingheads are wondering aloud how such a weak team ever got to the Orange Bowl in the first place, perhaps the wastlelands of Kansas won't be so attractive to new recruits after all.

alanm

12-03-2007, 01:02 PM

I don't know why you guys didn't realize that the Cotton Bowl has usually taken the loser of the Big 12 championship game.
And lets not forget that Bowls usually take teams that bring legions of fans. I'm not privy to that information but perhaps Missouri doesn't fare well in that area. Just saying. :shrug:

Pablo

12-03-2007, 01:06 PM

Well, when VT kicks the shit out of them, and the next day all the talkingheads are wondering aloud how such a weak team ever got to the Orange Bowl in the first place, perhaps the wastlelands of Kansas won't be so attractive to new recruits after all.Well..we know for sure they won't be talking about Mizzou and the Cotton Bowl at all.

Publicity is publicity..good, bad, or ugly. Get your name out. That's more than Mizzou will be doing with their bowl game.

alanm

12-03-2007, 01:08 PM

Lovely. Sounds like Lambeau, minus the frozen tundra.
It was pretty f*cking cold last year. About 30 degrees with a 25 mph wind. It was sunny, but cold and windy. :(

Sure-Oz

12-03-2007, 01:10 PM

Well..we know for sure they won't be talking about Mizzou and the Cotton Bowl at all.

Publicity is publicity..good, bad, or ugly. Get your name out. That's more than Mizzou will be doing with their bowl game.
KS gets trashed by vt that won't do them any favors. I like Mizzou's chances at making another top 10 run next year, kansas, well goodluck, and mizzou's incoming class is pretty solid and only will get better.

|Zach|

12-03-2007, 01:14 PM

Well..we know for sure they won't be talking about Mizzou and the Cotton Bowl at all.

Publicity is publicity..good, bad, or ugly. Get your name out. That's more than Mizzou will be doing with their bowl game.
The OB is already getting pretty good attention. Fron of the NCAA FB page on ESPN. The video has all kinds of good info.

"You might as well take the Orange Bowl with Kansas and put it on Comedy Central cause it is a joke."

ROFL

eazyb81

12-03-2007, 01:17 PM

Let's illustrate this graphically

BCS Bowl -$$$$$$$$$$$

Non-BCS Bowl - $$

Get It?

You do realize that all bowl money is split evenly between teams in the conference, right?

Kansas and OU do not generate any extra revenue from their BCS bowl appearances than any other team in the Big 12.

Pierce

12-03-2007, 01:17 PM

What if KU somehow beats VT? Then maybe they aren't so fraudulent after all...

The tough part about the MU game is that it is on New Years morning. Talk about a bad hangover for a lot of the country...

eazyb81

12-03-2007, 01:18 PM

Well..we know for sure they won't be talking about Mizzou and the Cotton Bowl at all.

Publicity is publicity..good, bad, or ugly. Get your name out. That's more than Mizzou will be doing with their bowl game.

LOL, getting embarrassed on national television for the 2nd straight game is not good publicity for a football program.

Pablo

12-03-2007, 01:19 PM

LOL, getting embarrassed on national television for the 2nd straight game is not good publicity for a football program.So, you don't think getting embarrassed in a marquee game for the second straight time by OU was in any way, shape or form good for the Tigers in terms of publicity?

Sure-Oz

12-03-2007, 01:20 PM

The OB is already getting pretty good attention. Fron of the NCAA FB page on ESPN. The video has all kinds of good info.

"You might as well take the Orange Bowl with Kansas and put it on Comedy Central cause it is a joke."

ROFL
ROFL but but but they earned it!

Mr. Laz

12-03-2007, 01:22 PM

the BCS hates mizzou as much as the rest of us ...... what other "take" is there?

Pablo

12-03-2007, 01:24 PM

The OB is already getting pretty good attention. Fron of the NCAA FB page on ESPN. The video has all kinds of good info.

"You might as well take the Orange Bowl with Kansas and put it on Comedy Central cause it is a joke."

ROFLWhat's the pitch line for the Cotton Bowl?

"Be sure to get up early on New Years Day after you've consumed gratuitous amounts of alcohol, and watch the former no. 1 team play the Heisman trophy winner ?"

As if you didn't care enough about bowl games that weren't the NC, here's the Cotton Bowl!

Woo-hoo..it's the best of the Non-BCS bowls.

KC_Connection

12-03-2007, 01:24 PM

the BCS hates mizzou as much as the rest of us ...... what other "take" is there?
That's seemingly all there is to it.

KU rules, MU drools.

Skip Towne

12-03-2007, 01:26 PM

the BCS hates mizzou as much as the rest of us ...... what other "take" is there?
:LOL:

Pierce

12-03-2007, 01:26 PM

Missouri is just not really an attractive football program, and neither is KU. Both schools are not known for football, and recruits outside of the Midwest aren't too interested in going to Columbia, Mo. or Lawrence, Ks.

Apparently, KU was the more attractive team to the Orange Bowl selection committee. Probably has a lot to do with Lew Perkins selling his team hard.

cosmo20002

12-03-2007, 01:28 PM

Why would that be? Seriously, what does Kansas have to offer? Bigger audience? Nope. Missouri's population is more than double that of Kansas. Bigger tradition? Again, no. Kansas has no tradition in football to speak of. More success? NO. We won head-to-head at a neutral field, effectively negating the one-loss season.

Missouri is just generally thought of as inferior to Kansas in general in althetics (probably due to KU's superior basketball program) and as a state (probably due to Missouri's abundance of meth labs and hillbillies).

Bottom line--you lose 2 games, you lose the right to whine about what bowl you get. So you're going to the 8th-best bowl instead of the 5th-best. So what? LSU has two losses--maybe you should whine about not going to the title game.

kcpasco

12-03-2007, 01:30 PM

the BCS hates mizzou as much as the rest of us ...... what other "take" is there?

Really?

Last I checked Mizzou was #6 and KU #8, I'm no mathematician but seems like Missouri is ranked higher and just the dumb shits at the Orange wanted to suck you off.

Oh and deny it all you want but by the looks of all the radio and tv shows talking about this they tend to agree also

Pablo

12-03-2007, 01:30 PM

ROFL but but but they earned it!Doesn't matter if we earned it or not. We're there.

Maybe Mizzou should have beat OU one time. Not twice..just one time, and they'd be playing in the NC game.

Mizzou fans call bawl their little eyes out.."it's not fair..the BCS hates Mizzou"..but the simple fact is that nobody cares about MU or KU on a national level right now. They cared about each program for about 2 weeks, and now it's back to the way it was before.

You think anyone on the East Coast is going...man I sure did enjoy watching MU get pounded by OU, I should probably check out the Cotton Bowl on New Years Day. Or the West Coast for that matter?

People will watch the Orange Bowl..if for no other reason that it's a marquee bowl game, and it will be force-fed down their throats.

It's funny how confident you Mizzou fans are that KU will get smashed by VT. Almost as confident as you were that there was no way OU could beat you again. You beat yourselves the first time, and a neutral site was all you needed to prove you were the best.

Did anybody even watch the BC/VT game? Because I did, and I'm about as impressed by the ACC Champs as I am by Hawaii.

alanm

12-03-2007, 01:31 PM

Missouri is just not really an attractive football program, and neither is KU. Both schools are not known for football, and recruits outside of the Midwest aren't too interested in going to Columbia, Mo. or Lawrence, Ks.

Apparently, KU was the more attractive team to the Orange Bowl selection committee. Probably has a lot to do with Lew Perkins selling his team hard.
It really has nothing to do with how attractive a team is. What really matters to Bowl officials is how much of a following a team has that's coming with them. $$$ matters to to the hosts and how much money they can rake in from the fans supporting said teams in that bowl.

chiefsfan1963

12-03-2007, 01:31 PM

It's too bad that MU had to play one extra game. It is what it is.

MU has everything to be proud about this year, but they had to have beat OU. They had 2 chances and they didn't do it. They controlled their destiny and they lost. No. 1 teams win.

They have no one to blame but themselves. In the end they better go out next year and kick OU's ass once and for all. That's where all that anger should go!!

KC_Connection

12-03-2007, 01:31 PM

Did anybody even watch the BC/VT game? Because I did, and I'm about as impressed by the ACC Champs as I am by Hawaii.
The ACC conference hasn't impressed me all season.

kcpasco

12-03-2007, 01:32 PM

Missouri is just generally thought of as inferior to Kansas in general in althetics (probably due to KU's superior basketball program) and as a state (probably due to Missouri's abundance of meth labs and hillbillies).

Bottom line--you lose 2 games, you lose the right to whine about what bowl you get. So you're going to the 8th-best bowl instead of the 5th-best. So what? LSU has two losses--maybe you should whine about not going to the title game.

Jesus ****ing Christ, you haven't won shit since 1988 and you act like you win a championship every year, your as bad as Raider fans.

Mr. Laz

12-03-2007, 01:34 PM

Really?

Last I checked Mizzou was #6 and KU #8, I'm no mathematician but seems like Missouri is ranked higher and just the dumb shits at the Orange wanted to suck you off.
homo .... with all your homo talk

Sure-Oz

12-03-2007, 01:35 PM

I am confident KU will lose to VT, Reesing will get "nervous" like the mu vs ku game. No one will be talking about KU next year anyway, MU will be back in top 15 contention and making a run again with the incoming recruits.

Pablo

12-03-2007, 01:36 PM

Jesus ****ing Christ, you haven't won shit since 1988 and you act like you win a championship every year, your as bad as Raider fans.But of the four programs that MU and KU put out there each year on the football and basketball side of things, who can you also count on being good?

That's part of the reason Kentucky got so much love for their football program this year..they weren't that great, but they have always been a NC Contender on the basketball side of things.

If Duke fielded a good football team next year, and went 10-2 or 11-1, they'd be media darlings. The nation loves seeing powerhouse schools..and Mizzou has been far from a powerhouse in anything, ever.

chiefsfan1963

12-03-2007, 01:37 PM

I am confident KU will lose to VT, Reesing will get "nervous" like the mu vs ku game. No one will be talking about KU next year anyway, MU will be back in top 15 contention and making a run again with the incoming recruits.

They better find a defense.

kcpasco

12-03-2007, 01:38 PM

homo .... with all your homo talk

Wow, sucks to know you got proven wrong.

Next time make sure to bring true stats to the table when trying to debate.

Mr. Laz

12-03-2007, 01:38 PM

I am confident KU will lose to VT, Reesing will get "nervous" like the mu vs ku game. No one will be talking about KU next year anyway, MU will be back in top 15 contention and making a run again with the incoming recruits.
and the BCS and orange bowl STILL won't want you

Pierce

12-03-2007, 01:38 PM

It really has nothing to do with how attractive a team is. What really matters to Bowl officials is how much of a following a team has that's coming with them. $$$ matters to to the hosts and how much money they can rake in from the fans supporting said teams in that bowl.

But it's likely that the more attractive a team is, the more money they might bring in due to casual fan interest, etc.

It does not matter. KU and MU will both get national attention. The seasons both teams have had will help with recruiting in the future.

cosmo20002

12-03-2007, 01:40 PM

Jesus ****ing Christ, you haven't won shit since 1988 and you act like you win a championship every year, your as bad as Raider fans.

I do believe there have been more than a few conference titles since then. And how many Final Fours? MU would kill for a Final 4. How about even making the Tourney once in a while?

Anyway, this was about getting 'screwed' out of a non-title game by being invited to a non-title game. What was the problem again?

Skip Towne

12-03-2007, 01:41 PM

It really has nothing to do with how attractive a team is. What really matters to Bowl officials is how much of a following a team has that's coming with them. $$$ matters to to the hosts and how much money they can rake in from the fans supporting said teams in that bowl.
I heard the bowl officials said they knew Kansas would bring a much higher class of people. :p

Pablo

12-03-2007, 01:42 PM

I am confident KU will lose to VT, Reesing will get "nervous" like the mu vs ku game. No one will be talking about KU next year anyway, MU will be back in top 15 contention and making a run again with the incoming recruits.That's fine. You shouldn't be too surprised if your defense crumbles in the second half again. They have a tendency to do that lately. If Patrick ran all over your defense, I can't wait to see what McFadden and Hillus are gonna do.

KU will probably be relatively the same team they were this year, next year. Maybe a couple more losses because they'll play a harder schedule, but even if Mizzou does make some great march towards the Big 12 Title again, OU is gonna be waiting on you. With the same roster, the same coaching staff, and the same result.

kcpasco

12-03-2007, 01:43 PM

I do believe there have been more than a few conference titles since then. And how many Final Fours? MU would kill for a Final 4. How about even making the Tourney once in a while?

Anyway, this was about getting 'screwed' out of a non-title game by being invited to a non-title game. What was the problem again?

But your the great and powerful KU, anything short of NC's aren't exceptable

amirite?

Pablo

12-03-2007, 01:44 PM

But your the great and powerful KU, anything short of NC's aren't exceptable

amirite?You tell us. As a Mizzou fan you should now be the interim expert on coming up short of a NC.

;)

'Hamas' Jenkins

12-03-2007, 01:44 PM

I heard the bowl officials said they knew Kansas would bring a much higher class of people. :p

You know those people who wave back and forth with their hands over their head when they get excited??

We call them retards, you call them your fan base.

Garcia Bronco

12-03-2007, 01:44 PM

The ACC conference hasn't impressed me all season.

7 - 7 win teams. That's pretty good.

kcpasco

12-03-2007, 01:47 PM

Just pray you can win the North before Iowas St. does.

But that probably won't happen

alanm

12-03-2007, 01:48 PM

But it's likely that the more attractive a team is, the more money they might bring in due to casual fan interest, etc.

It does not matter. KU and MU will both get national attention. The seasons both teams have had will help with recruiting in the future.
Make no mistake about it. Bowls always invite the teams who bring legions of fans WHERE EVER they go. If a team can't sell out their bowl allotment on a consistent basis that sticks with a team for years.

Pablo

12-03-2007, 01:48 PM

I also find it funny that KU is a trash team when they lost to "God's own team" by 8 points and were able to rattle off 28 points in the second half against your championship-caliber team.

Your definition of a slaughter could have been quickly altered had our kicker made two FG's. But no excuses, you were the better team that day. It's a shame you had to go and waste it with the defense you put out there.

You have a championship caliber offense, the defense, not so much.

kcpasco

12-03-2007, 01:49 PM

You have a championship caliber offense, the defense, not so much.

Pot meet Kettle

Skip Towne

12-03-2007, 01:51 PM

What's this? Va Tech has a 48-7 loss this year? I guess they did look good against Duke and William and Mary though.

Lzen

12-03-2007, 01:51 PM

And KU will have most of their team back. There aren't too many seniors on KU. I am confident that they will be good once again. 11 wins? Probably not. But they will be a very good team.

kcpasco

12-03-2007, 01:52 PM

Missouri has already bought up all the Cotton Bowl tickets. So your retarded statement that KU travels better is flawed.

kcpasco

12-03-2007, 01:54 PM

This was nothing more then a handjob.

Your athletic director promised to buy more tickets, the rest of the country sees it for what it was.

Lzen

12-03-2007, 01:55 PM

Jesus ****ing Christ, you haven't won shit since 1988 and you act like you win a championship every year, your as bad as Raider fans.

And a lot of MU fans that are putting down KU sound the same way. Get off your high horse.

Dr. Van Halen

12-03-2007, 01:58 PM

It does matter.

In 20 years we will be saying that KU had a one-loss season and went to a BCS bowl game.

In 20 years we won't be saying much about MU's season. They were ranked #1 for a week? They lost the Big 12 championship game?

Mizzou got hosed by the BCS and their ridiculous rules.

MU, KU, and OU all three earned the right to a BCS game.

Dr. Van Halen

12-03-2007, 02:00 PM

Missouri has already bought up all the Cotton Bowl tickets. So your retarded statement that KU travels better is flawed.

KU students and alumni are more attractive for bowls.

There's a reason why there's a stereotype that KU people are spoiled and rich.

ChiefsFanatic

12-03-2007, 02:15 PM

I think the fact that they played poorly, and the fact that they played poorly against the team that had previously beaten them, had a lot to do with not getting a BCS game.

vailpass

12-03-2007, 02:20 PM

This was nothing more then a handjob.

Your athletic director promised to buy more tickets, the rest of the country sees it for what it was.

Hate to burst your bubble but the rest of the country either:

a) has no idea of the vaginal squabble between your two one-time wonder squads
b) does not give a shit about either team
c) all of the above

|Zach|

12-03-2007, 02:45 PM

Hate to burst your bubble but the rest of the country either:

a) has no idea of the vaginal squabble between your two one-time wonder squads
b) does not give a shit about either team
c) all of the above
Actually this Mizzou fiasco is being talked about along side BCS coverage of every single media outlet I have browsed.

The MU\KU coverage by ESPN's college gameday got the biggest ratings in the show's history.

|Zach|

12-03-2007, 02:46 PM

It does matter.

In 20 years we will be saying that KU had a one-loss season and went to a BCS bowl game.

In 20 years we won't be saying much about MU's season. They were ranked #1 for a week? They lost the Big 12 championship game?

Mizzou got hosed by the BCS and their ridiculous rules.

MU, KU, and OU all three earned the right to a BCS game.
Did Kansas beat a top 40 team? How did Kansas earn anything?

kcpasco

12-03-2007, 02:47 PM

Did Kansas beat a top 40 team? How did Kansas earn anything?

Don't try and bring logic and reason into the discussion, it doesn't work with them.

|Zach|

12-03-2007, 02:56 PM

Lew Perkins said it will be 70%-30% kU fans @ Orange Bowl

KCinNY

12-03-2007, 03:01 PM

It does matter.

In 20 years we will be saying that KU had a one-loss season and went to a BCS bowl game.

In 20 years we won't be saying much about MU's season. They were ranked #1 for a week? They lost the Big 12 championship game?

Somehow in 20 years I doubt that either KU or MU fans will forget who won the biggest game in the history of either program.

Sure-Oz

12-03-2007, 03:03 PM

[QUOTE=Dr. Van Halen]It does matter.

In 20 years we will be saying that KU had a one-loss season and went to a BCS bowl game.

In 20 years we won't be saying much about MU's season. They were ranked #1 for a week? They lost the Big 12 championship game?[QUOTE]

Somehow in 20 years I doubt that either KU or MU fans will forget who won the biggest game in the history of either program.
They'll remember MU won and KU got in the orange bowl via a flaud system and they shit bricks facing their 2nd top 40 team

Pierce

12-03-2007, 03:31 PM

Somehow in 20 years I doubt that either KU or MU fans will forget who won the biggest game in the history of either program.

The game was big at the time, but now it seems to have worked out better for KU.

Nevertheless, KU fans have nothing to feel bad about. Their team competed in every game this season and beat all expectations. Missouri had a great season in their own right as well.

Unfortunately, KU is still a basketball school, and Missouri, is...well...I don't know. If they can keep winning, they might become a football school.

KCinNY

12-03-2007, 03:40 PM

IMO, we Mizzou fans shouldn't be mad at KU at all. The criminally flawed BCS system screwed Mizzou. Kansas had nothing to do with it.

Hell, I hope KU wins the Orange Bowl. It would be good for the Big 12.

Pierce

12-03-2007, 03:48 PM

Yup, and I hope Mizzou wins the Cotton Bowl. F*ck the SEC and every other conference, I say :)

Pierce

12-03-2007, 03:49 PM

Yup, and I hope Mizzou wins the Cotton Bowl. F*ck the SEC and every other conference, I say :)

Well, besides Vanderbilt of course.

Dr. Van Halen

12-03-2007, 04:07 PM

IMO, we Mizzou fans shouldn't be mad at KU at all. The criminally flawed BCS system screwed Mizzou. Kansas had nothing to do with it.

Hell, I hope KU wins the Orange Bowl. It would be good for the Big 12.

Thank you. That's very rational.

Despite being a KU fan, I am very irritated that MU got screwed.

Dr. Van Halen

12-03-2007, 04:09 PM

Somehow in 20 years I doubt that either KU or MU fans will forget who won the biggest game in the history of either program.

No, I agree. But that looks lame in the game day program, you know?

2007: MU beat KU in a big game.

vs.

2007: MU beat KU in a big game, then went on to play in a BCS bowl game.

I'm saying MU's season is considerably diminished by this slight.

Lzen

12-03-2007, 04:11 PM

Did Kansas beat a top 40 team? How did Kansas earn anything?

They beat #24 (at that time) Kansas State. But if you're talking final standings, no. Did KU lose to any unranked opponents? You see, it's easy to bash when you're only looking from one point of view.

Lzen

12-03-2007, 04:15 PM

IMO, we Mizzou fans shouldn't be mad at KU at all. The criminally flawed BCS system screwed Mizzou. Kansas had nothing to do with it.

Hell, I hope KU wins the Orange Bowl. It would be good for the Big 12.

Wow, a MU fan with some sense. Rather than bash KU, be mad at the Orange. I agree, the Orange screwed your team. I would have been fine with KU going to something like the Cotton. Before this season, I never would have in a million years expected KU to do this well.
I hope MU does well in their bowl game, too. Although I will admit that these KU bashers almost make me want to root for Arkansas. Naw, I really shouldn't care about that. I just hope KU does well.

KCinNY

12-03-2007, 05:15 PM

Wow, a MU fan with some sense. Rather than bash KU, be mad at the Orange. I agree, the Orange screwed your team. I would have been fine with KU going to something like the Cotton. Before this season, I never would have in a million years expected KU to do this well.
I hope MU does well in their bowl game, too. Although I will admit that these KU bashers almost make me want to root for Arkansas. Naw, I really shouldn't care about that. I just hope KU does well.

It's easy to be rational with KU fans when you have scoreboard.

:p

veist

12-03-2007, 06:04 PM

IMO, we Mizzou fans shouldn't be mad at KU at all. The criminally flawed BCS system screwed Mizzou. Kansas had nothing to do with it.

Hell, I hope KU wins the Orange Bowl. It would be good for the Big 12.

THIS.

The selection process being a popularity contest with a wink and nudge back scratching of the BCS conferences is what locked them out of a BCS bowl. Also have to look at the bright side both schools benefit from it as the same amount of money is going to the conference. Plus Mizzou is probably getting more national attention from this than they'd get from playing in the "Didn't Want to Pick Hawaii Bowl".

Braincase

12-03-2007, 06:05 PM

Is it fair to say that in the battle of the AD's, Perkins outhustled Alden to secure the bid for KU? I think Lew prmised the sun, the moon and the stars to get the Orange Bowl.

KChiefs1

12-03-2007, 06:33 PM

Pat Forde
ESPN.com

The day before the 2007 college football season started, I wrote a story about the two most underachieving programs in America:

Missouri and Illinois.

That pretty well set the tone for the least predictable autumn in the history of the sport. Today, the historically inept Tigers and Illini are a combined 20-5. On the first day of December, Missouri was ranked No. 1. On the second day of December, Illinois accepted a bid to the Rose Bowl.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame crawled into the offseason at 3-9.

See that coming? Neither did we.

It has been that kind of year. And it's fitting that it will end in New Orleans, which might be the nation's capital of weird.
This was a regular season that began with Mountaineer ecstasy (Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32) and ended with Mountaineer agony (Pittsburgh 13, West Virginia 9). It began with USC a landslide No. 1 and ended with the top ranking changing hands four times in the last five weeks -- and USC wasn't part of the rotation. It began with Kansas receiving zero votes in the AP preseason poll and ended with the Jayhawks earning an Orange Bowl bid.

We are on pace for more points to be scored and more yardage to be compiled than any season in the game's history. Yet the BCS championship game will pit the nation's No. 3 total defense (LSU) against the nation's No. 1 total defense (Ohio State).

We have begged someone -- anyone -- to accept the No. 2 ranking. Eight teams tried it on for size and didn't keep it long. Six of them lost to unranked teams (13 top-five teams have lost to unranked opponents, eight of them doing so at home).
If you don't believe there's some voodoo at No. 2, consider this: Since Oct. 7, when California climbed to that spot, second-ranked teams in the AP poll have gone a grisly 10-18. The last three AP No. 2s -- Oregon, Kansas and West Virginia -- have gone 0-5 since.

It's been coast-to-coast chaos.

Ohio State lost eight NFL draft picks, including the Heisman Trophy winner, and finds itself right back where it was at this time last year: No. 1 and playing for the title.
A bum knee (Dennis Dixon (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=145026)'s) and a backup QB (Stanford's Tavita Pritchard (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=176295)) changed the course of the championship chase in the Pacific-10.

In the Big 12, Mike Gundy lost his mind and Dennis Franchione and Bill Callahan lost their jobs.

The programs formerly known as Miami and Florida State continued to drag down the ACC.

UConn used fair-catch subterfuge to nearly win the Big East -- until it gave up 66 points in the de facto title game.

If eternally futile Vanderbilt could finish a game, Georgia likely would be out of the BCS and Tennessee never would have played in the SEC title game.

In other news, Trinity University won a game with a 15-lateral play that took 1 minute and 2 seconds to complete. But if any school symbolizes the sublime silliness of 2007, it is LSU. I cannot remember anyone having a more melodramatic season.

There were two triple-overtime losses. There were witheringly tense victories over Florida, Auburn and Alabama. There were injuries and screwball coaching strategy and rigorous competition to overcome. There were multiple moments of euphoria counterbalanced by multiple moments of dread.

By Thursday night, the Tigers feared that both their title shot and their coach were gone. Stunningly, they have retained both.

Michigan had permission to speak to Les Miles, whose affection for his alma mater reputedly was such that you'd think he hums "Hail to the Victors" in the shower every morning. At that point, odds that Miles soon would be wearing a maize-and-blue tie behind a lectern in Ann Arbor were 1-10.

Then there were the on-field issues. LSU entered December under the impression that it had drop-kicked its BCS championship hopes by giving up 50 points to Arkansas at home. After that, the Tigers were seventh in the BCS standings.

Today, after a Beamon
esque leap to No. 2, LSU could become the first two-loss team to win a national title since Minnesota in 1960. And it gets a virtual home game to try to pull it off. With Miles on the sideline, for this month and the foreseeable future.

The fact that Les Miles would turn down Michigan just might be the biggest shocker of all in the Year of the Upset. It's certainly in the top five, alongside App State over Michigan, Stanford over USC, Syracuse over Louisville and Pitt over West Virginia.
Turns out the coach is more of a money man than a Michigan Man. And LSU has a lot of jack to throw around when it comes to football, having short-circuited Miles' talks with the Wolverines by offering him a king's ransom to stay put.

It also turns out that the last plot twist of the regular season is a return to normalcy.

At various points during the year, we were left to speculate on what it would be like to have interlopers such as Cal, South Florida, Boston College, Oregon, Kansas and Missouri playing in the BCS title game. Yet in the end, we get blue bloods LSU and Ohio State -- the Tigers appearing in their second championship game since the BCS set up shop in 1998, the Buckeyes in their third.

That hardly means the BCS got it right, however. The system remains an insult to the sport, and to fans who are smart enough to know they're being sold swampland disguised as beachfront property.

Hawaii began the year ranked 23rd in the AP poll and never could get higher than 10th. In a year when a two-loss team will play for the title, the nation's only unbeaten never could get serious consideration for the national title game.

Why? The schedule. Didn't play anybody.

Yet Kansas began the year unranked and rose all the way to No. 2 in the BCS without having played anyone. By Sagarin rating, KU's best win was over No. 38 Texas A&M.

The difference between Hawaii and Kansas?

Conference affiliation.

How would you like to be Missouri today? You beat Illinois on a neutral field. You beat Kansas in front of a 60-40 Jayhawks crowd in Kansas City. You're ranked sixth in the final BCS standings, while Kansas is eighth and Illinois is 13th.

Yet Missouri is playing in the Cotton Bowl and the teams it beat are eating peeled grapes in chaise lounges in BCS Land. Nice system.

The fact that the Rose Bowl took the Illini -- a three-loss team from a lousy Big Ten -- is an indictment of a hidebound bowl that's part of a hidebound system. The Rose Bowl's myopic, weepy Big Ten vs. Pac-10 nostalgia is out of step with the times.

Did it ruin the Rose Bowl to have Texas play USC in one of the best games anyone has ever seen? Was it terrible the year before, when the Longhorns beat Michigan 38-37 on a last-play field goal? Did the world stop spinning when all those Oklahoma fans descended on Pasadena for the 2003 game?

College football fans would be far better served by a USC-Georgia Rose Bowl than by slavish adherence to cloying tradition. But the BCS doesn't exist to serve college football fans. It serves to protect the rich and help them get richer.

Thankfully, the sport with the worst postseason of all is counterbalanced by having the best regular season.

And there has never been a regular season like this one.

KcMizzou

12-03-2007, 06:41 PM

The 10 teams that made BCS bowls have a combined 2 wins over other BCS teams.

Mizzou's left out... and has 2 wins against BCS teams.

:shake:

Whatever, I guess.

I was proud to hear that Mizzou sold out it's allotment of Cotton Bowl tickets so quickly.

KChiefs1

12-03-2007, 06:46 PM

The Cotton Bowl is going to love having Mizzou.

I also think there is going to be some recruiting advantage by having the Tigers in the Dallas/Ft Worth area for a week with news coverage.

Bump

12-03-2007, 06:46 PM

I've been thinking about this a lot today and as much as I HATE Mizzou, I realize that they deserve a BCS bowl more than we do. But at the same time, I am happy we lucked out on getting this bowl game. God I wish there was a 12 team playoff or something so we all could have a fair chance at the championship, we had our chance, MU had their's, OSU had theirs but they lost and same with LSU. It's soooo stupid!! If you are good enough to be in the top 12 you are good enough to compete for the championship game.

Frazod

12-03-2007, 06:52 PM

Yet Kansas began the year unranked and rose all the way to No. 2 in the BCS without having played anyone. By Sagarin rating, KU's best win was over No. 38 Texas A&M.

The difference between Hawaii and Kansas?

Conference affiliation.

How would you like to be Missouri today? You beat Illinois on a neutral field. You beat Kansas in front of a 60-40 Jayhawks crowd in Kansas City. You're ranked sixth in the final BCS standings, while Kansas is eighth and Illinois is 13th.

Yet Missouri is playing in the Cotton Bowl and the teams it beat are eating peeled grapes in chaise lounges in BCS Land. Nice system.

The fact that the Rose Bowl took the Illini -- a three-loss team from a lousy Big Ten -- is an indictment of a hidebound bowl that's part of a hidebound system. The Rose Bowl's myopic, weepy Big Ten vs. Pac-10 nostalgia is out of step with the times.

:bravo:

I may have to put that in my signature.

Although he's wrong about the crowd - it was no better than 50/50, and in fact, there may have been a bit more Missouri fans there.

There certainly were Missouri fans there when it ended.

KChiefs1

12-03-2007, 06:55 PM

DALLAS, TX
Less than 24 hours after issuing an invitation to Missouri and Arkansas for the 72nd
AT&T Cotton Bowl, the New Year’s Day Classic is officially sold out in record time.

Both the Tiger and Razorback ticket offices announced today that their allotment has been sold in less than two hours.

The AT&T Cotton Bowl declared that general tickets sold through the Classic’s ticket office were
sold out immediately following yesterday’s team announcement.

“We had no idea how popular this matchup would be, we feel this year’s AT&T Cotton Bowl provides one of the most compelling matchups of the
bowl season, and based on how uniquely fast this game sold out, I think the fans are getting a sense that
this will be a special game between two outstanding teams,” Cotton Bowl Athletic Association
Chairman Bruce Gadd said.

Much of the excitement surrounding the upcoming AT&T Cotton Bowl can be attributed to the
matchup of Heisman candidates. Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel leads the No. 6-ranked
Tigers against Arkansas, led by last year’s Heisman runner up and Doak Walker Award winner,
running back Darren McFadden.

The Tigers (11-2, 7-1), the Big 12 North Division Champions, are making their first trip to the
AT&T Cotton Bowl since 1946 (Texas 40, Missouri 27).

Arkansas (8-4, 4-4) is making its 11th
appearance in the Classic and its first since 2002 when the Hogs fell to the Oklahoma Sooners, 10-3.

The
Tigers and Razorbacks last met in the 2003 Independence Bowl, with Arkansas winning 27-14.

The 2008 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic will be nationally televised on FOX, and kickoff is set for
10:45 a.m. on January 1st.

For more information, please visit www.attcottonbowl.com.

Bearcat

12-03-2007, 06:57 PM

The 10 teams that made BCS bowls have a combined 2 wins over other BCS teams.

Mizzou's left out... and has 2 wins against BCS teams.

Okay, that's one of those "Holy crap! ....wait a minute" sort of stats. There are 7 conferences represented in the BCS, and only Illinois and Ohio State played each other in conference. The other one was VTech and LSU.

Mizzou's point is made without the stat... they beat two teams that made it in. But, of course BCS teams don't have wins against each other... they aren't going to schedule each other out of conference. There's hardly any non-traditional games between big-time opponents.

After all, you don't need them to make it to the BCS, remember?

KcMizzou

12-03-2007, 06:59 PM

IMO, we Mizzou fans shouldn't be mad at KU at all. The criminally flawed BCS system screwed Mizzou. Kansas had nothing to do with it.

Hell, I hope KU wins the Orange Bowl. It would be good for the Big 12.True enough. What's KU supposed to do, turn it down?

Bump

12-03-2007, 07:05 PM

True enough. What's KU supposed to do, turn it down?

ya, it's kind of a bittersweet moment for us. We should know MU deserves it over us, but KU generally HATES MU so we kind of like seeing them get screwed over, but we know it shouldn't be like this. But we have to be happy about it at the same time. If that makes any sense at all, lol.

Bearcat

12-03-2007, 07:10 PM

:bravo:

I may have to put that in my signature.

Although he's wrong about the crowd - it was no better than 50/50, and in fact, there may have been a bit more Missouri fans there.

There certainly were Missouri fans there when it ended.

I agree with all of it, except conference affiliation isn't all of it. The same ESPN guy has been yelling "how about Hawaii?" for weeks, but doesn't seem to mention that the BCS takes into account the SoS of your opponent's opponents. It's basically how the computer determines if one 6-6 team is better than another 6-6 team. Basically, 'our chumps are better than your chumps'.

As far as the human polls... I'm sure a big part is conference affiliation, even though the humans know the same thing the computers know.

I guess that's not really the point of your post, but it was easier to quote you :p

Bearcat

12-03-2007, 07:12 PM

True enough. What's KU supposed to do, turn it down?

From what I hear, there's no use showing up anyway.

KChiefs1

12-03-2007, 07:13 PM

Rather than mope, Tigers must play no-respect angle to the hilt
By Jeff Gordon (jgordon@post-dispatch.com)
STLTODAY.COM SPORTS COLUMNIST
Monday, Dec. 03 2007

Look at the bright side, Missouri fans. Your football team now has a rallying
cry for the Cotton Bowl, for its offseason workouts, for spring football, for
summer camp, for the 2008 season and beyond.

The national pollsters regard the Tigers lightly. So do the knuckleheads at the
Orange Bowl, who jilted them after their loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12
Championship Game.

“With the result of that game, you have a two-loss team compared to a one-loss
team,” Orange Bowl chief executive Eric Poms said. “That was probably our most
pressing thing to look at.”

Never mind that Missouri beat Kansas earlier this season on a neutral field.

Never mind that Missouri (naturally) finished ahead of KU in the BCS standings.

Never mind that Missouri has an impressive collection of skilled players namely one Jeremy Maclin,
making it one of the most entertaining teams to watch.

Nope, the Orange Bowl wanted nothing to do with Mizzou. So the Tigers will
prepare to play Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl instead.

Rather than mope about this rejection -– which everybody in the business saw
coming, by the way -– the Tigers must turn it into the ultimate motivational
point.

Beating Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl would allow the Tigers to finish 12-2. It
would be a fitting exit for all the seniors who helped lead this program to the
Next Level.

Yes, it is irksome that the Cotton Bowl isn’t a BCS-level game. Yes, it is
ludicrous that teams Missouri beat are in BCS games instead.

But this is more than a consolation game for a program still establishing its
legitimacy. This is an opportunity to advance the program for years to come.

Missouri got on the big stage against KU and played a terrific game on national
TV. That got them to No. 1 in the rankings. That earned them a week of national
media love.

On the even bigger stage of the Big 12 Championship Game, the Sooners creamed
them. Every Missouri fan I talked to after that game – in cabs, shuttle buses,
airports, airplanes – accepted that Oklahoma is just a better football team.

That lopsided loss refueled the national skepticism about the Tigers. That
reaffirmed the notion that Mizzou was just a one-season wonder.

I don’t believe that is the case, looking at the players returning for 2008 and
the recruits lining up to play for the Tigers. But Missouri has to prove it
will have staying power – and the Cotton Bowl affords that opportunity.

This game will draw ratings, with high-profile stars Chase Daniel and Darren
McFadden playing. Arkansas hails from the SEC, the World’s Greatest Football
Conference in the eyes of the national media. Arkansas earlier upset LSU, which
lobbied its way into the BCS title game.

The Tigers should play the no-respect angle to the hilt and make the most of
EVERY SINGLE SNAP before these seniors get out the door.

The Tigers should fly into this game and never slow down, ever. By drubbing
Arkansas -– the only acceptable outcome of this game -– Missouri could finish
the season with a high national ranking.

That would allow them to open the 2008 season with a lofty ranking, which is
half the battle in this BCS “system.” Reputation accounts for one-half of the
BCS equation and loss total -– regardless of schedule strength -– is the other
half.

I don’t recommend the soft schedule approach. That is the Kansas State way,
adopted nicely by KU this season. I’d rather see Missouri play Illinois in a
marquee game pitting two Top Ten teams.

Playing those sorts of games allows a program to strengthen its reputation.
Showcase games put a program on national television, energize its booster base
and attract top recruits.

Missouri came a long way this year. It played a number of high-profile games.
The Tigers got lots of TV time and Daniel became a cover boy.

Getting stiffed by the BCS system was a setback, but the Tigers can plow
through it by dominating the Cotton Bowl and getting ahead start on their ’08
quest for respect.

KCinNY

12-03-2007, 07:18 PM

I think KU has a good shot against VaTech. The Hokie defense will be, by far, the best the Jayhawks have faced this season. However, their offense is nothing special. They have a running QB and a passing QB that split snaps, so their tendencies are tipped by who's lining up under center.

Mangino's a great coach who'll have KU ready to play.

DaneMcCloud

12-03-2007, 07:28 PM

MU better win it's game against Arkansas.

KU better win it's game against V-Tech.

Otherwise, all of these conversations are for naught.

BOTH teams have a chance to finish in the top 5, along with OU. If that happens, all three teams will be looked upon as possibly the best in the nation.

It would do wonders for MU and KU's recruiting as well.

Bearcat

12-03-2007, 07:33 PM

MU better win it's game against Arkansas.

KU better win it's game against V-Tech.

Otherwise, all of these conversations are for naught.

BOTH teams have a chance to finish in the top 5, along with OU. If that happens, all three teams will be looked upon as possibly the best in the nation.

It would do wonders for MU and KU's recruiting as well.

All that, plus if one team wins and the other loses, it's days of 'I told you so' by the winner... of course, to be brought up before every sporting event between the two teams until they meet at Arrowhead next year, plus any thread about Kansas or Mizzou until then.

Bump

12-03-2007, 07:36 PM

All that, plus if one team wins and the other loses, it's days of 'I told you so' by the winner... of course, to be brought up before every sporting event between the two teams until they meet at Arrowhead next year, plus any thread about Kansas or Mizzou until then.

ya it has potential to be trouble.

KChiefs1

12-03-2007, 07:36 PM

Mizzou In Tall Cotton
By Bernie Miklasz (bjmiklasz@post-dispatch.com)

I don’t blame Mizzou fans for being upset over the BCS shenanigans.

But no one should have been surprised. Expecting the BCS fixers to display intergrity is like expecting a democracy-based agenda from the Politburo in the old Soviet Union. This is a corrupt process, run with an iron first by those who have no interest but their self interest, and the NCAA should be ashamed to be associated with such a disgraceful enterprise.

And other teams have been victimized worse than Mizzou was in this instance.

My point: this was nothing personal. Mizzou hasn’t been the only team screwed by this BCS shell game.

In 1998, undefeated Kansas State was upset in the Big 12 title game, but rmained No. 3 in the BCS standings. But the ‘Cats were not invited to a BCS bowl game. Wisconsin (9th) and Florida (8th) got the bids instead. And the 2004 Auburn team went undefeated and didn’t get a shot at the title.

All of that said …

Once the anger subsides, the Tigers and their fans will eventually come around to realize that the Cotton Bowl is the best fit for Missouri in a bowl game at this time. I look at this a little differently than most. First of all, there’s the so-called national championship bowl game, and there are all other bowls. Pick one, select the two teams, fill the stadium, arrange the tailgate parties, have a good time. No sweat. They’re all pretty much the same thing: vacation trips for fans; a chance for the team to finish strong. So I just don’t get worked up over where teams go bowling. That’s just me.

The Cotton Bowl, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Mizzou are a great fit.

Here’s why:

Coach Gary Pinkel and his staff have established Texas as a recruiting base:
QB Chase Daniel hails from suburban Dallas. His return home for the Cotton Bowl will be a big deal. The DFW media brigade is vast, and intense. Mizzou will be saturated in positive media coverage for a week; it’ll be a Mizzou-RAH rally. Pinkel and assistants can use this trip as a lengthy promotional campaign. It’s one big recruiting pitch, free of charge, with the bowl people picking up the tab. Mizzou is being sent to one of their recruiting hotbeds, and the exposure will reach dozens of potential recruits, with Mizzou being placed in the best possible light in the days leading up to the game. I don’t know what the rules are, so I don’t know what Mizzou can or cannot do in conjunction for the Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl. But if it’s permissible, the MU staff ought to invite every recruiting target in Texas to come to the game. An all-expenses paid trip for Mizzou to market itself in Dallas-Fort Worth is a gift from the football gods.

Mizzou is playing Arkansas, a team with a high-profile star in running back Darren McFadden:
This game will feature two outstanding players, Daniel and McFadden, who likely will be among the finalists for this year’s Heisman Trophy. Daniel and McFadden could finish 2 and 3 in the voting (in some order). That kind of showcase showdown, should raise the TV ratings for this 10:30 a.m. (central time) game, and that’s more national play for Mizzou. The starting time is good in that Mizzou-Arkansas won’t face much competition for sports-fan attention.

Mizzou can win this game and finish 12-2 and among the top five in the nation:
It’s important for the Tigers to buckle up, get motivated, put on a dazzling show, and win big on Jan. 1. They still have a lot to play for. The Tigers can end up with their best season since 1969. And a rout of Arkansas would only reinforce that the Tigers are moving in the right direction, and that the best is yet to come. And a convincing win over Arkansas will only remind fans around the nation that Mizzou got jobbed by the BCS fixers. This game should not be viewed, or handled, as comedown. This game is another terrific opportunity for the Tigers. Frankly, I hope the team’s mindset isn’t affected by the negative reaction we’re seeing from Missouri fans.

Pinkel has been given a free no-respect card to play with in 2008:
On that ‘08 schedule, Mizzou faces Illinois and Kansas. Of course, the Tigers beat both teams in 2007, only to watch Illinois and KU get rewarded with BCS bids. A smart coach will use that to his advantage. We just saw Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops make superb use of the no-respect card by getting OU cranked up to soaring motivational levels for the Big 12 title game vs. Mizzou. Stoops had his players convinced that no one gave them credit for beating Mizzou during the regular season, and that the media and Mizzou players dismissed OU’s win as lucky because Mizzou handed it to them with late turnovers and mistakes. By the time Stoops finished with his effective propaganda campaign, his team was incredibly jacked up for the return engagement vs. the Tigers. Can you imagine what Pinkel and staff can do with this BCS snub next season before the KU game? If Pinkel is good at this, by the time he’s finished stoking the fire, he’ll have his players convinced that the selection of KU over Mizzou for the Orange Bowl was one of the great injustices in the history of sports, and nothing less than an act of spitting in the face of the MU players and coaches… and that the only way to make it right is to punish Kansas.

Speaking of Kansas in the Orange Bowl:
… so what? If KU absorbs a smackdown from a better Virginia Tech team, then it will only reinforce the belief that the Jayhawks were soft-schedule frauds in 2007. And about the Orange Bowl…other than the bigger payout, what’s so special about it? In last year’s Orange Bowl Classic, Louisville defeated Wake Forest. Does anybody remember it?

Whether they play in the Orange Bowl, or the Cotton Bowl, the best Mizzou can do is finish 12-2, and probably a No. 5 final ranking in the BCS (barring other upsets). So those goals are still in play. The identity of the Bowl simply doesn’t matter, and as I have already explained, because of the recruiting connection, there’s actually more benefit for this particular Mizzou team to play in the Cotton Bowl than the Orange Bowl.

If things break right in the bowl games, Mizzou will likely be standing in tall cotton at season’s end.

Pierce

12-03-2007, 07:52 PM

MU better win it's game against Arkansas.

KU better win it's game against V-Tech.

Otherwise, all of these conversations are for naught.

BOTH teams have a chance to finish in the top 5, along with OU. If that happens, all three teams will be looked upon as possibly the best in the nation.

It would do wonders for MU and KU's recruiting as well.

Yup. Everything else is just blabber.

Although I hope Mizzou doesn't have any recruits on the west coast. Early game New Years morning.

siberian khatru

12-03-2007, 09:09 PM

Rather than mope, Tigers must play no-respect angle to the hilt
By Jeff Gordon (jgordon@post-dispatch.com)
STLTODAY.COM SPORTS COLUMNIST
Monday, Dec. 03 2007

Look at the bright side, Missouri fans. Your football team now has a rallying
cry for the Cotton Bowl, for its offseason workouts, for spring football, for
summer camp, for the 2008 season and beyond.

The national pollsters regard the Tigers lightly. So do the knuckleheads at the
Orange Bowl, who jilted them after their loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12
Championship Game.

“With the result of that game, you have a two-loss team compared to a one-loss
team,” Orange Bowl chief executive Eric Poms said. “That was probably our most
pressing thing to look at.”

Never mind that Missouri beat Kansas earlier this season on a neutral field.

Never mind that Missouri (naturally) finished ahead of KU in the BCS standings.

Never mind that Missouri has an impressive collection of skilled players namely one Jeremy Maclin,
making it one of the most entertaining teams to watch.

Nope, the Orange Bowl wanted nothing to do with Mizzou. So the Tigers will
prepare to play Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl instead.

Rather than mope about this rejection -– which everybody in the business saw
coming, by the way -– the Tigers must turn it into the ultimate motivational
point.

Beating Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl would allow the Tigers to finish 12-2. It
would be a fitting exit for all the seniors who helped lead this program to the
Next Level.

Yes, it is irksome that the Cotton Bowl isn’t a BCS-level game. Yes, it is
ludicrous that teams Missouri beat are in BCS games instead.

But this is more than a consolation game for a program still establishing its
legitimacy. This is an opportunity to advance the program for years to come.

Missouri got on the big stage against KU and played a terrific game on national
TV. That got them to No. 1 in the rankings. That earned them a week of national
media love.

On the even bigger stage of the Big 12 Championship Game, the Sooners creamed
them. Every Missouri fan I talked to after that game – in cabs, shuttle buses,
airports, airplanes – accepted that Oklahoma is just a better football team.

That lopsided loss refueled the national skepticism about the Tigers. That
reaffirmed the notion that Mizzou was just a one-season wonder.

I don’t believe that is the case, looking at the players returning for 2008 and
the recruits lining up to play for the Tigers. But Missouri has to prove it
will have staying power – and the Cotton Bowl affords that opportunity.

This game will draw ratings, with high-profile stars Chase Daniel and Darren
McFadden playing. Arkansas hails from the SEC, the World’s Greatest Football
Conference in the eyes of the national media. Arkansas earlier upset LSU, which
lobbied its way into the BCS title game.

The Tigers should play the no-respect angle to the hilt and make the most of
EVERY SINGLE SNAP before these seniors get out the door.

The Tigers should fly into this game and never slow down, ever. By drubbing
Arkansas -– the only acceptable outcome of this game -– Missouri could finish
the season with a high national ranking.

That would allow them to open the 2008 season with a lofty ranking, which is
half the battle in this BCS “system.” Reputation accounts for one-half of the
BCS equation and loss total -– regardless of schedule strength -– is the other
half.

I don’t recommend the soft schedule approach. That is the Kansas State way,
adopted nicely by KU this season. I’d rather see Missouri play Illinois in a
marquee game pitting two Top Ten teams.

Playing those sorts of games allows a program to strengthen its reputation.
Showcase games put a program on national television, energize its booster base
and attract top recruits.

Missouri came a long way this year. It played a number of high-profile games.
The Tigers got lots of TV time and Daniel became a cover boy.

Getting stiffed by the BCS system was a setback, but the Tigers can plow
through it by dominating the Cotton Bowl and getting ahead start on their ’08
quest for respect.

GREAT piece. GREAT.

Sure-Oz

12-03-2007, 09:26 PM

Mizzou In Tall Cotton
By Bernie Miklasz (bjmiklasz@post-dispatch.com)

I don’t blame Mizzou fans for being upset over the BCS shenanigans.

But no one should have been surprised. Expecting the BCS fixers to display intergrity is like expecting a democracy-based agenda from the Politburo in the old Soviet Union. This is a corrupt process, run with an iron first by those who have no interest but their self interest, and the NCAA should be ashamed to be associated with such a disgraceful enterprise.

And other teams have been victimized worse than Mizzou was in this instance.

My point: this was nothing personal. Mizzou hasn’t been the only team screwed by this BCS shell game.

In 1998, undefeated Kansas State was upset in the Big 12 title game, but rmained No. 3 in the BCS standings. But the ‘Cats were not invited to a BCS bowl game. Wisconsin (9th) and Florida (8th) got the bids instead. And the 2004 Auburn team went undefeated and didn’t get a shot at the title.

All of that said …

Once the anger subsides, the Tigers and their fans will eventually come around to realize that the Cotton Bowl is the best fit for Missouri in a bowl game at this time. I look at this a little differently than most. First of all, there’s the so-called national championship bowl game, and there are all other bowls. Pick one, select the two teams, fill the stadium, arrange the tailgate parties, have a good time. No sweat. They’re all pretty much the same thing: vacation trips for fans; a chance for the team to finish strong. So I just don’t get worked up over where teams go bowling. That’s just me.

The Cotton Bowl, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Mizzou are a great fit.

Here’s why:

Coach Gary Pinkel and his staff have established Texas as a recruiting base:
QB Chase Daniel hails from suburban Dallas. His return home for the Cotton Bowl will be a big deal. The DFW media brigade is vast, and intense. Mizzou will be saturated in positive media coverage for a week; it’ll be a Mizzou-RAH rally. Pinkel and assistants can use this trip as a lengthy promotional campaign. It’s one big recruiting pitch, free of charge, with the bowl people picking up the tab. Mizzou is being sent to one of their recruiting hotbeds, and the exposure will reach dozens of potential recruits, with Mizzou being placed in the best possible light in the days leading up to the game. I don’t know what the rules are, so I don’t know what Mizzou can or cannot do in conjunction for the Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl. But if it’s permissible, the MU staff ought to invite every recruiting target in Texas to come to the game. An all-expenses paid trip for Mizzou to market itself in Dallas-Fort Worth is a gift from the football gods.

Mizzou is playing Arkansas, a team with a high-profile star in running back Darren McFadden:
This game will feature two outstanding players, Daniel and McFadden, who likely will be among the finalists for this year’s Heisman Trophy. Daniel and McFadden could finish 2 and 3 in the voting (in some order). That kind of showcase showdown, should raise the TV ratings for this 10:30 a.m. (central time) game, and that’s more national play for Mizzou. The starting time is good in that Mizzou-Arkansas won’t face much competition for sports-fan attention.

Mizzou can win this game and finish 12-2 and among the top five in the nation:
It’s important for the Tigers to buckle up, get motivated, put on a dazzling show, and win big on Jan. 1. They still have a lot to play for. The Tigers can end up with their best season since 1969. And a rout of Arkansas would only reinforce that the Tigers are moving in the right direction, and that the best is yet to come. And a convincing win over Arkansas will only remind fans around the nation that Mizzou got jobbed by the BCS fixers. This game should not be viewed, or handled, as comedown. This game is another terrific opportunity for the Tigers. Frankly, I hope the team’s mindset isn’t affected by the negative reaction we’re seeing from Missouri fans.

Pinkel has been given a free no-respect card to play with in 2008:
On that ‘08 schedule, Mizzou faces Illinois and Kansas. Of course, the Tigers beat both teams in 2007, only to watch Illinois and KU get rewarded with BCS bids. A smart coach will use that to his advantage. We just saw Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops make superb use of the no-respect card by getting OU cranked up to soaring motivational levels for the Big 12 title game vs. Mizzou. Stoops had his players convinced that no one gave them credit for beating Mizzou during the regular season, and that the media and Mizzou players dismissed OU’s win as lucky because Mizzou handed it to them with late turnovers and mistakes. By the time Stoops finished with his effective propaganda campaign, his team was incredibly jacked up for the return engagement vs. the Tigers. Can you imagine what Pinkel and staff can do with this BCS snub next season before the KU game? If Pinkel is good at this, by the time he’s finished stoking the fire, he’ll have his players convinced that the selection of KU over Mizzou for the Orange Bowl was one of the great injustices in the history of sports, and nothing less than an act of spitting in the face of the MU players and coaches… and that the only way to make it right is to punish Kansas.

Speaking of Kansas in the Orange Bowl:
… so what? If KU absorbs a smackdown from a better Virginia Tech team, then it will only reinforce the belief that the Jayhawks were soft-schedule frauds in 2007. And about the Orange Bowl…other than the bigger payout, what’s so special about it? In last year’s Orange Bowl Classic, Louisville defeated Wake Forest. Does anybody remember it?

Whether they play in the Orange Bowl, or the Cotton Bowl, the best Mizzou can do is finish 12-2, and probably a No. 5 final ranking in the BCS (barring other upsets). So those goals are still in play. The identity of the Bowl simply doesn’t matter, and as I have already explained, because of the recruiting connection, there’s actually more benefit for this particular Mizzou team to play in the Cotton Bowl than the Orange Bowl.

If things break right in the bowl games, Mizzou will likely be standing in tall cotton at season’s end.
Excellent piece indeed, enough said! Go Mizzou!

|Zach|

12-03-2007, 11:23 PM

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Talk about misery in Missouri.

For Tigers fans, a Big 12 title game loss to Oklahoma was bad enough. No more No. 1 ranking, no trip to New Orleans for the BCS national championship.

At least Missouri (11-2), could still boast supremacy over archrival Kansas, a team the Tigers knocked from the unbeaten ranks with a late-season victory at Arrowhead Stadium. The win gave Missouri the Big 12 North division crown.

Not so fast. When it comes to Missouri-Kansas, two schools that can't even agree on their all-time series record, nothing is ever quite so easy.

Kansas, not Missouri, earned the coveted Bowl Championship Series at-large berth and a Jan. 3 trip to the Orange Bowl to face ACC champion Virginia Tech. Missouri, shut out of the BCS, heads to the Cotton Bowl and a New Year's Day battle against No. 25 Arkansas (8-4), its southern neighbor.

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel and his players had nothing but good things to say about the Cotton Bowl selection, from the opportunity to play in the program's first Jan. 1 bowl game in nearly four decades to the chance to make a better impression on recruits in Texas after the lopsided Alamodome loss to the Sooners.

But knowing that the dreaded Jayhawks were headed to a more prestigious bowl, despite the loss to Missouri and lower rankings in both the AP and final BCS polls?

The BCS selection process, like making sausage, is a process not easily understood from the outside. All-American tight end Martin Rucker agreed.

"I don't know how it happens, I don't know why it happens, but it happens," he said. "We just have to be thankful for the bowl we got in there and give it our best shot."

BCS coordinator Mike Slive said that once the at-large teams are determined, the matchup choices are up to individual bowls.

Regular-season winners from the six power conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern) earned automatic berths in the BCS, joined by undefeated WAC champion Hawaii.

The at-large berths went to Kansas, Georgia and Illinois -- a team that also lost to Missouri this season. The Illini face Southern California in the Rose Bowl.

"Kansas is very deserving of the BCS," said Slive, who also is the Southeastern Conference commissioner.

He later added, "I certainly would understand that (Missouri) could be very, very disappointed."

Across the Missouri-Kansas border in Lawrence, athletic director Lew Perkins said the Jayhawks earned their spot in the Orange Bowl.

"We don't have to be apologetic for anything," he said. Kansas finished the regular season 11-1.

Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing agreed.

"We're very deserving," he said. "If anyone wants to doubt us, we've proven them wrong all year and we're going to continue to do that because we've earned the spot we got."

Orange Bowl officials cited Kansas's status as a one-loss team as well as the team's historic connection to the old Big Eight Conference.

Of course, Missouri was also a member of the Big Eight.

"Kansas and Missouri were back to back next to each other," Orange Bowl chief executive officer Eric Poms said. "Having a one-loss team compared to a two-loss team was the most pressing thing we looked at. At the end of the day, that was our thought process."

At Booche's restaurant in downtown Columbia, a popular hangout known for its greasy burgers served on wax paper, Missouri fans weren't buying that explanation.

"It just doesn't make any sense. It's not fair," said Tiger fan Chris Huston. "Kansas had only one loss because they didn't have a chance to play in the title game after Missouri beat them."

Missouri now has four weeks to prepare for its next game. The Tigers plan to quickly cleanse themselves of the disappointing loss to Oklahoma, which won its fifth Big 12 title in seven appearances since 2000.

The Tigers hope to avoid a repeat of similar events in 1998, when Kansas State's run at No. 1 ended with a Big 12 title game loss followed by a monumental collapse to Purdue in the Alamo Bowl.

"You've got to flush it out of your system pretty soon," said Missouri wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. "We feel like we still have a lot to prove."

Tits McGee

12-04-2007, 01:47 AM

I am confident KU will lose to VT, Reesing will get "nervous" like the mu vs ku game. No one will be talking about KU next year anyway, MU will be back in top 15 contention and making a run again with the incoming recruits.

If I remember correctly, it was "jitters."

HMc

12-04-2007, 05:40 AM

besides the money, i guess the cotton bowl is almost as good as a BCS bowl?

imagine having lure recruits with "the 2007 team boasted a 11-2 record and achieved a comprehensive win over Wake Forest in the Meineke Car Care Bowl"